Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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Ive been experimenting with Ebay lately to see if i could sell me scrap for a little more on there. I always ship through USPS so i checked their website for shipping costs and it said $5.80. Thats what i put shipping costs as on Ebay. Anyways, the item finally sells so i go to the store to have it delivered and they charged me almost $13. They said i must have looked at it wrong but i do this every time and this has never happened. Who do you guys usually ship through?
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USPS. You have to be careful, though, cause the automatic dimensions Ebay puts in is often not correct - often the weight. Maybe you got a rate for First Class online but used a Flat Rate box?
People may laugh at me, but that's ok. I laugh all the way to the bank.
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I only use USPS for Flat Rate stuff and know what box it's going in before listing. I offer Free Shipping but it's built into the price of the item.
Everything else goes Fedex and I box it and figure out the cost before listing...as with USPS stuff it's offered as Free Shipping but the cost is built into the price.
Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
Certified Zip-Tie Mechanic
"Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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It was a small flat rate box. I always check the USPS site for shipping. I dont trust Ebay :P I wonder if he accidentally charged me for a medium box (if thats even possible)Originally Posted by Mick
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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You really need to take the time to learn about USPS and the best way to ship things. I usually try to use USPS because its usually less expensive.
A good example is I like to use Priority mail. Sure, you can use a flat rate box, but this often isn't the cheapest way to use it. Today I had 2 business phones I needed to ship. They wouldn't fit into a med flat rate box (about $11.00). My next choice would be a large flat rate box at near $15.00. That really can cut into any profit. It's a lot of shipping.
USPS Priority mail ships by region. For me, if something ships to the eastern half of the U.S. it is actually cheaper to NOT use a flat rate box. I shipped a 16x12x4 box (which is larger than the flat rate box) for $7.00 priority mail.
If something will fit into a flat rate box, PRIOR to shipping, always use the ebay label creator to check what the cost of a "large package" Priority mail will cost. You will need to add the dimensions and weight but in some cases it can be considerably cheaper.
One word of caution, I am selective of what I ship USPS. It is much more difficult to make an insurance claim with USPS. If I have something with a larger value or that is fragile I will pay a few dollars more and use FedEx because I've never had a problem getting paid for a damaged package.
On ebay I usually just list the item with "standard shipping" then after a purchase go to the shipping calculator and check a few different ways to see what would actually be the best way to ship an item.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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i use the regional rate boxes all the time...sometimes it allows me to make several dollars extra profit...i will offer calculated shipping, or charge for a medium flat rate box on my listing...then once the item is sold if my customer happens to be closer to me i can use a regional rate a or b box and save several dollars...
just remember the regional a is good for 15 pounds and the b is good for 20 pounds...if you go over on weight and they catch it your customer will not be happy
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USPS flat rate boxes are the best bang for the buck for shipping scrap.....just make sure you pack it super protective and make sure you use tons of heavy duty tape because their automation process is very very rough on heavy packages. Get insurance too because the post office weighs it the second you give it to them and they put a sticker on it with the weight. That way when the recipient gets a busted package they can check the difference in weights and have a solid case on the insurance claim
Last edited by DAVECCT; 03-21-2014 at 11:03 AM.
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Looks like that's what happened. Another thing to keep in mind is that the charge you see for your item is not what the bidder sees for other than Flat Rate. I didn't realize that until somebody from California clued me in that the shipping charge for him was over $40 when it showed about $10 for me. It was costing me sales and higher bids. So now I go with Flat Rate that'll hold the item, build that into the price and offer free shipping. Then I can use whatever costs the least to ship to the winner. The Flat Rate amount is the most it can cost. Then I can either figure the balance as a handling charge or refund to the buyer. I've noticed a significant increase of sales to California and other western state addresses.
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I'll have to start doing that. I think that is why I'm not getting bids on some of the lower dollar items.
New Guy
USPS Flat Rate boxes are great for shipping heavy items. Once you start using your own boxes and the weight gets up to 10lbs it will be cheaper to send via FedEx. Especially if you are sending to a zone 8.
If anybody is shipping USPS or FedEx I can help lower your rates. I am one of the only authorized resellers for USPS and FedEx.
For USPS I can give anybody Commercial Plus Pricing which usually requires 50,000 priority mail packages a year to qualify. Plus I can give a Stamps.com membership for free. This is usually $15.99 a month.
For FedEx I can help with better discounts. Even if you already have a FedEx account I can help lower your discounts.
PM me if you are interested.
Last edited by SuppliesGuy; 05-10-2014 at 09:53 PM.
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